“life is a comedy to those who think and a tragedy to those who feel” Horace Walpole

Same Sex Divorce in Rhode Island

Two women who were married to one another in Massachusetts are petitioning the Rhode Island State Supreme Court for the right to divorce one another in their home state of Rhode Island. Rhode Island currently neither bans same sex marriage nor allows it–the two women were able to marry because of a September 2006 ruling in MA which found that out of state same sex couples could marry in MA so long as the laws of their home state don’t ban it.

I thought it was interesting that the lawyers for the women are stressing that this case would have no bearing on same sex marriage in Rhode Island. I beg to differ. The right to a legal divorce is, perhaps ironically, one of the most important benefits of legal marriage. It provides a legal (and the fairest possible) framework for couples to separate their shared assets and lives.

It is my hope that this is yet another incremental step towards the recognition of gay marriages in Rhode Island. I think it is a wise choice that the women’s lawyers are steering clear from the topic. If the state legislature works the way it is supposed to, it should, at some point, address the problems of denying gay couples legal equality (as demonstrated by this case) by granting full marriage equality.

Until then, I think it’s best the courts refrain from finding in favor of gay marriage. They should continue to correct the real inequalities that gay couples face by being denied the right to marry. Maybe then, when straights realize that gay unions are the functional equivalent to heterosexual marriages, they will not feel as passionate as many are now about denying the word ‘marriage’ to gays.